Project background
Medium-density building technology has become an increasingly attractive housing solution as pressure mounts on the existing building stock. All the major cities and many larger provincial centres now have provisions to encourage medium-density housing (MDH) development.
However, New Zealand lacked significant guidance for building MDH. Developers were forced to rely on guidance from overseas jurisdictions which wasn’t always relevant or transferable to New Zealand conditions.
The BRANZ research fills this gap. It provides the building industry with the tools and guidance it needs to build high-quality and affordable MDH, and create desirable housing that is accepted by the wider community.

Key outcomes
BRANZ approached Silverstripe to design, build, and brand a website that aggregates its research and presents the most relevant information on MDH in a New Zealand context. As Silverstripe was involved from the beginning, we were able to clearly focus on both the technical and non-technical audiences the site aims to reach. The homepage was designed to be clear and concise, making it easier to navigate to relevant information. We were able to ensure BRANZ’s site is the clear destination for MDH in New Zealand.
The team at Silverstripe found a new technique to implement the MDH site’s animations in a responsive way. Using Lottie—Airbnb’s open-source animation tool—enabled the team to render After Effects animations in real time, meaning the MDH site can use animations as easily as it uses static images. It also frees the site from plug-ins and third-parties to render animations.
By advising on branding, creative strategy, UX, visual design, and website development, Silverstripe was able to ensure BRANZ’s site is the clear destination for MDH in New Zealand.

Services provided
- Workshops
- Discovery
- Creative Strategy
- Wireframing
- UX & Design
- Branding
- Front and back end web development
- Dedicated testing resource
- Ongoing UX & UI discussions
- Project Management
- Solution Architect consultation
- Programme Management
- Account Management
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